Salvation as Seeing the Person of Christ The implication that what happened to shine in Paul when he saw the face of Paul, the implications are indeed tremendous. Tremendous contention on his part, let light be. There was no light, and here is such a man, until I saw the face of Jesus, that's how it was with me, that he was in the dark, and all was to be one of the most enlightened when he saw the face of Jesus, he said, until then, the primal dark, more than that, I said let light be, everything was in chaos, state of disruption, after all, all that I came to be, until I saw the face of Jesus, that's how it was, still again, let light be, nothing there at all, what he sings, he realizes, he will find plenty in his to bear it out, that for him, the face of Jesus meant light as over against darkness, not just some more light, but the mighty contrast between light and darkness, seeing the face of Jesus meant for him order out of chaos, out of meaninglessness, that Jesus meant for him out of, quite agree, indeed he does, although the method and the manner, the beginning of our Christian life and experience may differ, many different ways in which into characteristics, coming into that relationship with the Lord Jesus, from darkness to light, just getting some light, the difference between the darkest night and the brightest day, between, be like that, in every case, point the face of Jesus Christ, in the face of, when it happened, who art thou, the answer came clear, I am Jesus, I am Jesus, never, never, tremendous, and we do not use exaggerated language when we say the terrific implication for that man, that word Jesus, all this, all this, because that is, we want really to feel this message, so the term or word face is metaphorical, in the original language, the word means more than just countenance, it carries with it also the idea of person, or personality, we understand that, that metaphorically the face saw, and this is the thing that I want right at the outset, I'm not going to make anything like the, as a young convert, and as a growing Christian, I'm going, of the weight that he has had, to any degree as he counted in the work of the Lord, one thing is absolutely essential, and do get hold of this, the youngest Christian get hold of this, and everybody else, that if we take salvation, our conversion, or anything that has to do with it, as something in itself, there's going to be limitation, we have got to see everything in the light of the person, that is, we have not to take this as a gift, salvation, as a gift, or anything else of the Christian life as a gift, we have got to look at that and say, what does that signify as to the giver, what does that signify as to Christ, what does that mean as to the source of my salvation, but it is of infinite importance, because all progress in the Christian life, and all Christian service, not enjoyment of salvation as such, but seeing Jesus, because you see, Jesus is the sum total of all divine fullness, in a long, much amongst, I have had a lot of what we may call mission centers, mission halls, larger or smaller, in some cases a very large number of Christians meeting there, listening either to their prayers, or to their singing, taking note of their Christian life, there they are, they have been Christians for years, decades, all they have got to talk about is the day when they were saved, they came to the Lord, they are back there, and when you come to these people, who have had years of Christian life, with anything beyond the most elementary, they don't know what you are talking about, some other language, they just can't follow, you have got nothing to work on, they have not grown up, cannot take solid meat, what they say is the simple gospel, meant to be a criticism, or a judgment, but an illustration, what have they done, they have taken salvation in itself, seen salvation as only a part of something far, far greater, more immense, greater, fullness is Christ, is the thing, and not the person, it makes all the difference, see I come back here, what does explain Paul's Christian life, his rapid spirit upon the dispensing, he saw in the face of Jesus, everything, everything, you see Paul was a Jew, nationally of the Jews, was for light, claimed to be the most enlightened, but light was what they were after, all the time, light in relation to God, and God and man, and man and God, true of himself, true of him, more so in his own case, than many of his own country, the quest for life, did not begin to be answered until he saw the face of Jesus Christ, this was such a tremendous thing, such an overwhelming thing, in life, and everything to do with it, revelation of Jesus Christ in the heart, it may be there in the words, now note, Paul probably, it was all there, not until this happened, did he see his Old Testament, when he saw it in the face of Jesus Christ, it needs to be known for spiritual effect, until by the Holy Spirit, you see Jesus Christ everywhere, the books of the Bible, not the analysis of the books of the Bible, the themes and the subjects are insignified here, how he is implied as the key, never had that key until he saw the face of Jesus, and then wherever he looked after that, anywhere in this universe, Bible or outside the Bible, he saw the face of Jesus, wherever he looked, that is not exaggeration, you know, sometimes if you look right into the sun, for some while afterward, wherever you look, you don't see the things that are there, you only see the sun, you are blinded to everything else, that is exactly what happened with Paul, he was blinded in a sense to everything else, having seen everything in life, everything in character, everything in endurance and opposition and suffering, everything in victory and adversity, everything in service, will depend entirely upon how much we have seen in the face of Jesus Christ, make no mistake about it, dear friends, as we have said in prayer here again this morning, it is a very critical time in the history of the people of God, as it is in the history of this world, and if I am not mistaken, this conference is set in a very critical time, into, and more deeply into, the final testing of everything that is taking place in the life of many of the Lord's people, and the Lord's servants, not that we shall escape that in some form or another, we are really going to be put to it, the world where they have their foundations most, you may be tasting that in a spiritual way now, how many people have said to me about this very time, why what a battle it's been to get here, wouldn't happen, it just happens when you've got something of the Lord in view, oh yes, and those happenings are very often very, very testing happening, they could shake you toward the end, and you want to dismiss in that way, you see the point is this, even our salvation as such is going to be put to the test, even all that we have really got is going to be put to the test, not to be too difficult for us to question our salvation, to question the Lord himself is a kind of objective thing, that it is made up of things, made up of meetings, made up of teaching, made up of fellowship, made up of beliefs, it's made up like that, it will not be difficult for us to question the reality of the whole thing, the reality of the whole thing, does that sound a terrible thing to say, the reality of Christianity, not difficult to allow that question, the issue, the issue is going to be only one thing, how much the matter of God having shined into our hearts, I put it in a way which has caused a good deal of trouble, but nevertheless perhaps that itself is significant, that God has revealed it in us, what we have has come to us by revelation of Jesus Christ, I emphasize that does not mean something extra to the Bible, but what is there in the Bible has by the Holy Spirit been illuminated in our own hearts, this has come out of the Bible into us by an act of God, a fear of God, we have seen that in our hearts, that had become, when it's like that, I think yesterday, to the saintly Polycarp, who was of faith in those days, with his white hair and his was being on that stage, an official standing by looked, he had tremendously moved to see such a and he stepped up, he said, I'll save you, forty and six years have I, and he has never done me a single injury, I would say something against him to save my life, he went to the martyrs, that's a heart relationship isn't it, that is something more than life, anything else, I say it was that that carried Paul through all his sufferings, he had seen the face of Jesus, it was that that was the face of Jesus that made him the Christian that he was, and please do not get mentalities about objective visions of the face of Jesus, that's not what I'm talking about at all, seeing a face, I'm simply meaning that there has come to you by the Holy Spirit in your heart, a knowledge of the significance of Jesus Christ in this whole universe, in the councils of God, the revelation of Jesus, the light, the knowledge, the glory of God in the face of Jesus, that brings strength, that brings, I'm quite sure that here today, who have gone on for many years, we'd have been out of the fight long ago, the fight long ago, it is because we, may I put it this way, we've seen something, where something is in the someone, when you've seen, when you've seen, something is done, the effect it had with Paul, look what a man it made of him, do you notice the context of those words that we read in Galatians, when he pleased God to reveal his son in me, what did I do, go and consult those who were apostles before me as to whether I was right, this is according to tradition, I didn't go up to Jerusalem to confer with flesh and blood and talk it over and see whether I was right, this thing put me on my feet in such a way, there was no question for me about no one could add anything to this for me by way of confirmation as to the reality and the rightness.